Man-at-Arms

The Top Toys Man-at-Arms went through four main stages of development, each with numerous variations.

First Editions – Soft Head Variants:

These began with smaller-than-standard Mattel bodies produced using the rotocasting (rotomoldeo) method. The heads were imported from Taiwan and marked accordingly. The smaller torsos initially featured slightly longer necks than a typical figure. When Top Toys began producing their own heads, the “Taiwan” marking was removed, and the necks were shortened. The legs tend to be a darker shade than the torso and arms.

Second Editions – Hard Head Variants:

These retained the small bodies but used hard heads. The body colors varied—from traditional green with plastic arms to darker green with rubber arms—offering noticeable differences in texture and appearance.

Third Editions – Pre-Reeditions:

These figures combined elements from both the smaller early parts and the larger reedition parts. All pre-reeditions had large torso molds marked MATTEL INC 1981, along with reedition shorts and egg-yellow accessories. The primary variation among them was in the limbs: some had large legs, some small; some had large arms, some smaller. One pre-reedition even featured He-Man shorts.

Fourth Editions – Reeditions:

These figures all featured large torsos. Some retained the MATTEL INC marking, while others had blank torsos with square arm pegs—a feature unique to Top Toys development. Shorts varied widely, from He-Man-style shorts to unpainted maroon variants, and accessories ranged from yellow to orange.